He informed The Guardian: “What wouldn’t it imply if Ukraine retook the territory Russia considers its personal and Putin didn’t use nuclear weapons in response?

“Coming from the one that has the only decision-making energy concerning Russian nuclear weapons, this must be taken severely.”

Russia’s nuclear coverage was final outlined in a 2010 army doctrine, which outlines two eventualities by which the nation would use the weapons.

Officers would use nuclear weapons “in response to the usage of nuclear and different kinds of weapons of mass destruction in opposition to [Russia] or its allies” and “in case of aggression in opposition to Russia with the usage of typical weapons when the very existence of the state is threatened”.